Prospecting is not selling. Prospecting is seeking people who could potentially be interested in your product or service. And prospecting is helping those who are looking for someone who does what you do to find YOU.

This post is specifically designed to show you how to attract, inspire, and invite your ideal clients to visit your website to learn more.

The first thing you must do is to define who your ideal client is. When I ask this question during a consultation, too frequently I hear, “I got this. My ideal client is anybody with a credit card. Anybody willing to pay me.” But that’s not the right mindset to have if you want to enjoy the work you do with your clients. So think about the ‘dreamy’ clients with whom you love to work. Then describe everything about who they are, why you enjoy working with them, how you help them, and the measurable results you provide for them. For example, my ideal clients are professional coaches and consultants. And all of my marketing is directed towards these audiences, especially using LinkedIn.

If you do it right, LinkedIn will be the most useful tool in your marketing arsenal. Here are four strategies you can implement to market yourself effectively on LinkedIn:

1.) Join Groups and Communities which have your Ideal Clients as Members.

The key is not just to join these groups and communities, but to share your content within those groups. Next, post your articles, offer advice, and answer questions. But don’t give away everything you know in your post or response. Share just enough to inspire curiosity for the group members to “read more.” Share a link to a specific page on your website that would be most valuable to them and which will pique their further interest.

2.) Update your Headline on a Regular Basis.

Your headline is the text directly beneath your headshot image on LinkedIn. My company provides our clients with 12 ‘Benefit-Rich’ headlines, and we ‘swap’ these headlines out for them every month of the year. Doing this will ensure your profile is viewed more frequently by people in your network. Keep in mind that merely stating you are ‘CEO of such-and-such company’ does not inspire more in-depth examination from your profile visitors. Instead, I suggest to include these three components within your headline: 1.) State your area of expertise. 2.) Define who you help. 3.) Outline the benefits or the transformation that you provide to your clients. For example, my most-used headline reads, ‘Helping Coaches & Consultants Maximize Visibility, Attract Ideal Clients and Systematize Their Business.’

3.) Think of the First Three Lines as Prime Real Estate.

The summary section offers just three visible lines of text. Make it about THEM (your ideal clients). If those first three lines ‘grab’ interest, they will click to read more. Then in the rest of the summary section, you can share more about you, including all your certifications, degrees and achievements. But ideally, if you can share within one brief paragraph that you have the solution to solve their most pressing problems, they will want to learn more about who you are and how (and why) you do what you do.

4.) Respond to requests to connect.

When people request to connect with you on LinkedIn, make sure you not only accept the invitation but that you seize the opportunity to take the discussion further. Perhaps send a note to highlight something about their profile that you find interesting. Then, share a bit of what you do, but in an informative, not sales-y way.

When you have a script designed to address your clients’ needs that works on LinkedIn, be sure to add it to your template folder and edit it as you need to. This way you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time you find yourself in discussion with your potential prospects.

By implementing these suggestions, you will be able to attract your ideal prospects, inspire their further interest, and engage in dialogue to develop a potential opportunity to work with them.